The national task force on suicide set up in 1996 by the former Minister for Health, Deputy Noonan, published its recommendations in 1998. The report outlined 79 areas where intervention should be made to reduce suicide levels, which illustrates the complexity of the issue. While there are no simple solutions, there is a need for greater investment in research. The amount spent on suicide prevention research is only 5% of investment in road safety which is not enough.